Hang tabs are used in large numbers for hanging a wide variety of small products on the wire hangers of sales display racks. The hang tabs have an opening, usually in the form of a squat, isosceles triangle, having an apex that can receive a single wire hanger and having a base broad enough to receive a double wire hanger.
Hang tabs are generally adhered to the box or package they support, and they are usually formed to fold flat against the package they are adhered to, until the package is removed from a packing case and hung up for sales display. A popular form of such a hang tab is made of clear polyester resin that does not obscure the package the tab is adhered to. To successfully resist peel and sheer forces involved in hanging the object from the tab, the tab is made of relatively thick and expensive polyester resin that is formed with a hinge line as the tab is die cut, so that the tab can fold flat against the package it is adhered to. A relatively aggressive and expensive adhesive is also required to ensure that the hang tab is reliable in holding an object or package on a supporting wire for an indefinite length of time.
Experiments have shown that thinner and less expensive polyester resin hang tabs adhered to objects or packages with ordinary and less expensive pressure-sensitive adhesive fail to work satisfactorily when the tab is hung on a single wire hanger. Apparently, the hanging stress from the weight of the object supported by the tab, in being transmitted upward around the ends of the triangular-shaped opening to the apex of the triangle, imposes a wave or curl shape on the tab; and this exerts peel forces on the adhesive. Adhesives are not good at resisting peel forces; and after hanging for awhile, the package peels away from the tab and falls to the floor. This problem does not occur with double wire hangers, but they constitute only a small portion of the hangers being used in stores.
The invention solves this problem, however; and the solution involves changing the way the tab is cut to form the opening that receives single and double wire hangers. Although the improved opening can still accommodate both single and double wire hangers, it provides extra support for the hanging object when a single wire hanger is used. This successfully resists the peel forces that would otherwise occur and allows a thin and inexpensive hang tab, adhered to an object with ordinary pressure-sensitive adhesive, to perform reliably in hanging the object indefinitely from a single wire hanger. This significantly reduces the cost of hang tabs using an opening formed according to the invention; and since hang tabs are applied in large numbers to competitively priced commodities, any cost saving is significant.